§ 13. Mr. Nabarroasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works, as representing the Lord President of the Council, to state, in tabulated form, the extent and degree of atmospheric pollution in respect of the 30 most heavily air-polluted local authority areas in the United Kingdom, arranged in order of degree, from worst, at the head, to relatively the best at the foot of the table; the date on which the measurements were made in respect of each local authority area; and whether his Department, in pursuance of clean air policy, maintain full atmospheric pollution records for all local authority areas.
§ Mr. BevinsI will, with permission, circulate the information available in the OFFICIAL REPORT. In reply to the last part of my hon. Friend's Question, measurements are made by local authorities in co-operation with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in 333 areas, mostly where pollution is high.
§ Mr. NabarroAs that represents only 333 out of more than 1,500 local authority areas in the whole country, what proposals has my hon. Friend made for making the measurement of atmospheric pollution in this country universal?
§ Mr. BevinsI understand my hon. Friend's zeal in this matter but he is training his guns on the wrong Minister. If there is any suggestion that it should be made compulsory for local authorities to take these measurements, that is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government.
§ Following is the information:
| INSOLUBLE DEPOSITED MATTER IN 30 SELECTED LOCAL AUTHORITIES' AREAS | |
| ANNUAL AVERAGE 1949–54 | |
| Site | Weight (in grammes) of insoluble matter Site which falls on an area of 100 sq. metres each month |
| Rawmarsh—Parkgate, Granby House | 3,800 |
| Billingham—Belasis Avenue | 3,530 |
| Southwark—Bankside, Green-more Wharf | 2,990 |
| Wellingborough—Finedon Road | 2,450 |
| Eston—Grangetown, Cleveland House | 2,220 |
| Kearsley—Weir | 2,060 |
| Derby—Osmaston | 1,940 |
| Stretford—Trafford Park | 1,860 |
| Bradford—Sugden Street | 1,710 |
| Port Talbot—Taibach, Regent Cinema | 1,620 |
| Doncaster R.D.—Askern Vicarage | 1,550 |
| Stockport—Portwood | 1,490 |
| Willesden—Minet Gardens | 1,430 |
| Leeds—Burley Park | 1,240 |
| Manchester—Phillips Park | 1,220 |
| Greenwich—Fuel Research Station | 1,220 |
| Battersea—Battersea Park | 1,180 |
| Bilston—Dudley Street | 1,120 |
| Bristol—Portishead Dock | 1,040 |
| Stocks bridge—Town centre | 1,020 |
| Middlesbrough—South Bank Road | 1,010 |
| Hornsey—Raleigh Road, West | 1,010 |
| Rotherham—Blackburn | 1,010 |
| Sheffield—Attercliffe | 1,000 |
| Croydon—Barracks | 960 |
| Bootle—Litherland Road | 940 |
| Smethwick—Gasworks | 900 |
| Bolton—Police Sports Ground | 900 |
| Birmingham—Great Charles Street | 880 |
| Salford—Ladywell Hospital | 860 |
| SULPHUR DIOXIDE BY THE VOLUMETRIC METHOD IN 30 SELECTED LOCAL AUTHORITIES' AREAS | |
| ANNUAL AVERAGE 1949–54 | |
| Site | Concentration of sulphur Site dioxide in the air (Parts per 100 million) |
| Leeds—Market Buildings | 16 |
| Salford—Regent Road | 15 |
| Lambeth—County Hall | 14 |
| Sheffield—Surrey Street | 14 |
| Westminster—Monck Street | 13 |
| Woolwich—Beckton | 12 |
| Bradford—Town Hall | 11 |
| City of London—Golden Lane | 11 |
| Wakefield—Northgate | 11 |
| Bolton—Civic Centre | 10 |
| Leicester—Greyfriars | 10 |
| Southwark—Walworth Road | 10 |
| Manchester—Rusholme | 10 |
| Twickenham—National Physical Laboratory | 10 |
| Site | Concentration of sulphur dioxide in the air (Parts per 100 million) |
| Glasgow—Central | 9 |
| Newcastle-upon-Tyne—DeanStreet | 9 |
| Warrington—Sankey Street | 9 |
| Greenwich—Fuel Research Station | 8 |
| Preston—Lancaster Road | 8 |
| Birmingham—St. Martin's Street | 7 |
| Burnley—Parker Lane | 7 |
| Stocksbridge—Town Centre | 7 |
| Bilston—Wellington Road | 6 |
| Leyton—Sidmouth Road | 6 |
| Chiswick—Town Hall | 5 |
| Hornchurch—Billet Lane | 5 |
| Kingston-upon-Hull—High Street | 5 |
| Brierley Hill—Dudley Road | 4 |
| Longbenton—N.C.B. Laboratory | 4 |
| Wolverhampton—Waterloo Road | 4 |
| SULPHUR DIOXIDE BY THE LEAD PEROXIDE METHOD IN 30 SELECTED LOCAL AUTHORITIES' AREAS | |
| AREAS ANNUAL AVERAGE, 1949–54 | |
| Site | Amount of sulphur gases absorbed from the air each month by a reactive surface (in Empirical Units)* |
| Sheffield—Bessemer Road | 100 |
| Stretford—Trafford Park | 6.3 |
| Billingham—Council Offices | 5.3 |
| London—St. Paul's Cathedral, Apex of West Roof | 5.0 |
| London—Trinity House Wharf Poplar | 4.7 |
| Halifax—Beacon Hill | 3.9 |
| London—St. Marylebone Town Hall | 3.8 |
| Manchester—Monsall | 3.8 |
| Wallasey—Town Hall | 3.8 |
| London—Becton, Woolwich | 3.6 |
| Rowley Regis—Old Hill | 3.5 |
| Bucklow—Partington Gas Works | 3.4 |
| London—Southwark Bridge Road | 3.4 |
| Salford—Regent Road | 3.4 |
| Farnworth—Highways Depot | 3.3 |
| Little Lever Cricket Ground | 3.3 |
| London—Hackney Town Hall | 3.2 |
| Stocksbridge—Hunshelf Bank | 3.2 |
| Oldham—Horsedge Street | 3.1 |
| London—Bessborough Street, Westminster | 3.0 |
| Redcliffe, Secondary School | 3.0 |
| London—County Hall, North-East Roof | 2.9 |
| Site | Amount of sulphur gases absorbed from the air each month by a reactive surface (in Empirical Units)* |
| Rotherham—Erskine Road | 2.9 |
| West Ham—Marshgate Lane Stratford | 2.9 |
| Widnes—Health Centre | 2.9 |
| Barking—Alfred's Way | 2.8 |
| Luton—Connaught Road | 2.8 |
| Newcastle-upon-Tyne—West-gate Cemetery | 2.8 |
| Bootle—Litherland Road | 2.7 |
| Chadderton—Grammar School | 2.7 |
| * Measured in milligrammes of sulphur trioxide per day per hundred square centimetres of standard lead peroxide exposed in the standard apparatus. |
| SMOKE | |
| IN 30 SELECTED LOCAL AUTHORITIES' AREAS | |
| ANNUAL AVERAGE 1949–54 | |
| Site | Concentration of smoke in the air (milligrammes per 100 cubic metres) |
| Salford—Regent Road | 53 |
| Leeds—Market Buildings | 49 |
| Stocksbridge—Town Centre | 48 |
| Glasgow—Glasgow Cross | 37 |
| Sheffield—Surrey Street | 37 |
| Wombwell—Divisional Health Office | 37 |
| Bradford—Town Hall | 33 |
| Soufhwark—Walworth Road | 33 |
| Bolton—Civic Centre | 32 |
| Rawmarsh—Parkgate, Council Office | 32 |
| Keighley—Town Hall Square | 31 |
| Kingston-upon-Hull—High Street | 31 |
| Woolwich—Beckton | 31 |
| Lambeth—County Hall, roof | 28 |
| Willenhall—Albion Works | 28 |
| Manchester—Rusholme | 26 |
| Warrington—Health Centre, Sankey Street | 26 |
| Bilston—Wellington Road | 24 |
| Birmingham—St. Martin's Street | 24 |
| Goole—Boothferry Road | 24 |
| Preston—Lancaster Road | 24 |
| Leyton—Sidmouth Road | 23 |
| Batley—Market Place | 22 |
| Castelford—Pontefract Road | 22 |
| Darton—Council Offices | 22 |
| Westminster—Grosvenor Road | 22 |
| Burnley—Parker Lane | 21 |
| Elland—Westgate, Public Library | 20 |
| Morley—Windsor House | 20 |
| Newcastle—King's College | 20 |